Roughriders Survive Furious Comeback, Beat TigerCats In CFL Play
It was just a week ago that the Saskatchewan Roughriders blew a 22-0 first half CFL lead to the Edmonton Eskimos en route to a 38-33 loss. On Sunday afternoon, it looked for a moment like history was repeating itself. The Hamilton Tiger Cats would tie the score at 23-23 early in the fourth quarter before the hosts pulled it out with a late touchdown and field goal to win 33-23.
After the game, Roughriders coach Ken Miller talked about the importance of not blowing another big CFL lead:
“We didn’t want to do that again, “In the first half in particular it was sensational. In the third quarter we gave up some points … but overall our defence played pretty good.”
Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille indicated that there was no moral victory in coming close:
“You’ve got to play 60 minutes to win in the CFL, you can’t play 30 minutes.”
Saskatchewan ran for 214 yards, with Wes Cates becoming the first Roughrider to rush for more than 100 yards this season as he finished with 117. After the game, Cates spoke of his accomplishment:
“It was not as much for myself but more for the naysayers. Yeah I needed a big game like that to stop the rumours and stop people from talking bad about me.”
Saskatchewans defensive line also starred, completely shutting down the Hamilton rushing attack. The Roughriders limited the Tiger-Cats runners to a mere 31 yards on the ground, easily improving upon their previous best performance of 114 rushing yards against.
Kevin Glenn replaced Hamilton starting QB Quinton Porter after the first quarter and finished the game 12-for-27 with 183 yards. Porter was 1-for-5 for only three yards before he was yanked.
The Tiger-Cats now have a bye week i before they return to action August 29th against the Edmonton Eskimos. Saskatchewan will head east to take on the CFL leading Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.